Map of Bulgaria | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

top of page


Background: A Slavic state, Bulgaria achieved independence in 1908 after 500 years of Ottoman rule. Bulgaria fought on the losing side in both World Wars. After World War II it fell within the Soviet sphere of influence.


top of page


Location

Geographic coordinates

Map reference

Area

Land boundaries: 1,881 km total; Greece 494 km, Romania 608 km, Turkey 240 km, Yugoslavia 539 km

Coastline: 354 km

Maritime claims
Contiguous zone: 24 nm
Extended economic zone: 200 nm
Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: temperate; cold, damp winters; hot, dry summers

Terrain: mostly mountains with lowlands in north and south

Elevation

Natural resources: bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, coal, timber, arable land

Land use: 34% arable land; 3% permanent crops; 18% meadows and pastures; 35% forest and woodland; 10% other; includes 11% irrigated

Irrigated land

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards

Geography
Note: strategic location near Turkish Straits; controls key land routes from Europe to Middle East and Asia


top of page


Population: 8,933,544 (July 1990), growth rate - 0.3% (1990)

Nationality: noun--Bulgarian(s; adjective--Bulgarian

Ethnic groups: 85.3% Bulgarian, 8.5% Turk, 2.6% Gypsy, 2.5% Macedonian, 0.3% Armenian, 0.2% Russian, 0.6% other

Languages: Bulgarian; secondary languages closely correspond to ethnic breakdown

Religions: religious background of population is 85% Bulgarian Orthodox, 13% Muslim, 0.8% Jewish, 0.7% Roman Catholic, 0.5% Protestant, Gregorian-Armenian, and other

Demographic profile

Age structure

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate

Birth rate: 13 births/1000 population (1990)

Death rate: 12 deaths/1000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: - 4 migrants/1000 population (1990)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: subject to earthquakes, landslides; deforestation; air pollution

Air pollutants

Sex ratio

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 13 deaths/1000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 69 years male, 76 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 1.9 children born/woman (1990)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy: 95% (est.)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


top of page


Country name: conventional long form: People's Republic of Bulgaria

Government type: Communist state, but democratic elections planned for 1990

Capital: Sofia

Administrative divisions: 8 provinces (oblasti, singular--oblast) and 1 city* (grad; Burgas, Grad Sofiya*, Khaskovo, Lovech, Mikhaylovgrad, Plovdiv, Razgrad, Sofiya, Varna

Dependent areas

Independence: 22 September 1908 (from Ottoman Empire)

National holiday: Anniversary of the Socialist Revolution in Bulgaria, 9 September (1944)

Constitution: 16 May 1971, effective 18 May 1971

Legal system: based on civil law system, with Soviet law influence; judicial review of legislative acts in the State Council; has accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: universal and compulsory at age 18

Executive branch: Chief of State--President Petur Toshev MLADENOV (chairman of the State Council since 11 November 1989; became president on 3 April 1990 when the State Council was abolished; Head of Government--Chairman of the Council of Ministers Andrey LUKANOV (since 3 February 1990; Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers Chudomir Asenov ALEKSANDROV (since 8 February 1990; Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers Belcho Antonov BELCHEV (since 8 February 1990; Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers Konstantin Dimitrov KOSEV (since 8 February 1990; Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers Nora Krachunova ANANIEVA (since 8 February 1990)

Legislative branch: Bulgarian People's Army, Bulgarian Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Frontier Troops

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation: CCC, CEMA, FAO, IAEA, IBEC, ICAO, ILO, ILZSG, IMO, IPU, ITC, ITU, IWC--International Wheat Council, UN, UNESCO, UPU, Warsaw Pact, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us: Ambassador Velichko Filipov VELICHKOV; Chancery at 1621 22nd Street NW, Washington DC 20,008; telephone (202) 387-7,969; US--Ambassador Sol POLANSKY; Embassy at 1 Alexander Stamboliski Boulevard, Sofia (mailing address is APO New York 9,213; telephone p359o (2) 88-48-01 through 05

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of white (top), green, and red with the national emblem on the hoist side of the white stripe; the emblem contains a rampant lion within a wreath of wheat ears below a red five-pointed star and above a ribbon bearing the dates 681 (first Bulgarian state established) and 1944 (liberation from Nazi control)

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


top of page


Economy overview: Growth in the sluggish Bulgarian economy fell to the 2% annual level in the 1980s, and by 1989 Sofia's foreign debt had skyrocketed to $10 billion--giving a debt service ratio of more than 40% of hard currency earnings. The post-Zhivkov regime faces major problems of renovating an aging industrial plant, keeping abreast of rapidly unfolding technological developments, investing in additional energy capacity (the portion of electric power from nuclear energy reached 37% in 1988), and motivating workers, in part by giving them a share in the earnings of their enterprises. A major decree of January 1989 summarized and extended the government's economic restructuring efforts, which include a partial decentralization of controls over production decisions and foreign trade. The new regime promises more extensive reforms and eventually a market economy. But the ruling group cannot (so far) bring itself to give up ultimate control over economic affairs exercised through the vertical Party/ministerial command structure. Reforms have not led to improved economic performance, in particular the provision of more and better consumer goods. A further blow to the economy was the exodus of 310,000 ethnic Turks in mid-1989, which caused temporary shortages of skilled labor in glassware, aluminum, and other industrial plants and in tobacco fields.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate

Real gdp per capita

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Agriculture products: accounts for 15% of GNP; climate and soil conditions support livestock raising and the growing of various grain crops, oilseeds, vegetables, fruits and tobacco; more than one-third of the arable land: devoted to grain; world's fourth-largest tobacco exporter; surplus food producer

Industries: food processing, machine and metal building, electronics, chemicals

Industrial production growth rate: 0.9% (1988)

Labor force:

Unemployment rate: NA%

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget: revenues $26 billion; expenditures $28 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA billion (1988)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports: $20.3 billion (f.o.b., 1988)
Commodities: machinery and equipment 60.5%; agricultural products 14.7%; manufactured consumer goods 10.6%; fuels, minerals, raw materials, and metals 8.5%; other 5.7%
Partners: Socialist countries 82.5% (USSR 61%, GDR 5.5%, Czechoslovakia 4.9%; developed countries 6.8% (FRG 1.2%, Greece 1.0%; less developed countries 10.7% (Libya 3.5%, Iraq 2.9%)

Imports: $21.0 billion (f.o.b., 1988)
Commodities: fuels, minerals, and raw materials 45.2%; machinery and equipment 39.8%; manufactured consumer goods 4.6%; agricultural products 3.8%; other 6.6%
Partners: Socialist countries 80.5% (USSR 57.5%, GDR 5.7%), developed countries 15.1% (FRG 4.8%, Austria 1.6%; less developed countries 4.4% (Libya 1.0%, Brazil 0.9%)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $10 billion (1989)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: leva (Lv) per US$1--0.84 (1989), 0.82 (1988), 0.90 (1987), 0.95 (1986), 1.03 (1985)


top of page


Electricity
Capacity: 11,500,000 kW capacity; 45,000 million kWh produced, 5,000 kWh per capita (1989)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


top of page


Telephones

Telephone system

Broadcast media

Internet

Broadband fixed subscriptions


top of page


Military expenditures
Percent of gdp: 1.6051 billion leva (1989; note--conversion of the military budget into US dollars using the official administratively set exchange rate would produce misleading results

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


top of page


National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 380 total, 380 usable; about 120 with permanent-surface runways; 20 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 20 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Heliports

Pipelines: crude, 193 km; refined product, 418 km; natural gas, 1,400 km (1986)

Railways

Roadways

Waterways: 470 km (1986)

Merchant marine: 108 ships (1,000 GRT and over) totaling 1,240,204 GRT/1,872,723 DWT; includes 2 short-sea passenger, 32 cargo, 2 container, 1 passenger-cargo training, 5 roll-on/roll-off, 16 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 2 railcar carriers, 48 bulk

Ports and terminals


top of page


Disputes international: Macedonia question with Greece and Yugoslavia

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs